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Peers describe how ACT and long‑term supports enabled recovery and housing stability
Summary
Two witnesses with lived experience — Rochelle Ellison and Harry Robertson — credited ACT teams, long‑term case management, and peer support with helping them secure and keep housing, arguing that relationship‑based outreach and wraparound services are essential.
Rochelle Ellison, a certified peer specialist, told the committees she was chronically homeless and that Pathways to Housing DC's ACT‑based wraparound services were decisive in her recovery. "Pathways to Housing DC, Housing First gave me the foundation I needed to be able to choose to decide that I could live a normal, healthy, fulfilled life," she testified.
Harry Robertson, who now works in recovery services, described long periods of instability before getting placed in PSH and credited his caseworkers and peer supports with helping him rebuild. Both witnesses urged the council to preserve funding for ACT, expand access to peer specialists, and prioritize on‑the‑street engagement that builds trust before housing placements. Their testimony underscored providers’ point that early, continuous relationship‑building increases success in scattered‑site housing.
